£16.5bn data centre planned for former Chapelcross nuclear plant site
CX Tech Ltd has submitted plans for a £16.5bn data centre at the former Chapelcross nuclear site in Dumfriesshire, promising 500-plus jobs and one of the world's biggest data centres by power capacity.
Plans have been submitted for a £16.5bn data centre at the former Chapelcross nuclear plant site near Annan in Dumfriesshire. Applicant CX Tech Ltd lodged it with Dumfries and Galloway Council and hopes work could start next year, taking eight years to complete. (https://www.scottishconstructionnow.com/articles/plans-submitted-for-ps165bn-data-centre-at-former-chapelcross-nuclear-site)
The 162,000 sqm scheme would include eight data centre buildings of about 120MW each, plus a dedicated training centre. Expected to run on green energy with a minimum 30-year lifespan, it could create more than 500 full-time jobs and rank among the world’s biggest data centres by power capacity. Action to Protect Rural Scotland puts it at 1000MW — bigger, it says, than any data centre currently operating. (https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/16882518/worlds-largest-data-centre-scotland-nuclear-plant/)
Graeme Anderson, chief executive of CX Tech, said: “This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for Dumfries and Galloway and for Scotland. Chapelcross has the potential to bring together our renewable energy strengths, digital infrastructure and high-value jobs in a way that few other sites can.” (https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/16882518/worlds-largest-data-centre-scotland-nuclear-plant/)
Chapelcross opened in 1959 and generated electricity until 2004; its cooling towers were demolished in 2007 and reactors de-fuelled in 2013. The land is owned by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority but sits outside the former power station’s Nuclear Licensed Area. (https://www.scottishconstructionnow.com/articles/plans-submitted-for-ps165bn-data-centre-at-former-chapelcross-nuclear-site)
The plans have drawn local opposition over their visual impact and effect on local energy supplies and costs, with about 1,000 people signing a petition against the scheme. The developers describe the project as a £15.6bn investment; the headline figure is £16.5bn. The deadline for comments and objections is 29 October. (https://www.dejavu.org/cgi-bin/get.cgi?ver=95&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.yahoo.com%2Fnews%2Fworld%2Farticles%2Fgiant-data-centre-plans-lodged-111809595.html)
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